Unit 2 adjective-building suffixes

-ish	Pole red	Поляк красный	Polish reddish	польский красноватый
-ive	to act	действовать	active	деятельный
-ent	to differ	различать	different	различный
-ant	to observe	наблюдать	observant	наблюдательный
-ic	base	основа	basic	основной
-al	centre	центр	central	центральный
-ful	peace	мир	peaceful	мирный
-ous	fame	слава	famous	знаменитый
-y	sun	солнце	sunny	солнечный
-ary	element	элемент	elementary	элементарный
-ory	to explain	объяснить	explanatory	объяснительный
-able	to change	изменять	changeable	изменчивый
-ible	access	доступ	accessible	доступный
-less	taste	вкус	tasteless	безвкусный

2.1 Form adjectives from the words by means of the suffix – ful. Translate them.

Model: help – help ful

wonder, use, power, truth, beauty, thank, colour, harm, success, doubt, peace

2.2 –ful – ful is often used to indicate quantity e.g. a pocketful (the contents of a pocket) of coins.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

houseful / cupful / thankful / handful / mouthful / teaspoonful

1 Put a large ________ of rice in boiling water, then add a little salt, just a ______.

2 At Christmas we had a ________ of visitors.

3 The foreign tourist put a _______ of money in front of the taxi driver and said, “Is this enough?”

4 After just one ________ I knew she was a wonderful cook.

5 A _______ of petrol should take this car over 200 miles.

2.3 Form adjectives from the words by means of the suffix – less. Translate them.

Model: use – use less

help, power, motion, weight, air, need, aim, water, colour, fear, taste, home, wind, voice.

2.4 Form adjectives from the words by means of the suffix – al. Translate them.

Model: nature - natur al

physics, experiment, mathematics, geography, economy, biology, culture, electric, universe.

2.5 Form adjectives from the words by means of the suffix – ous. Translate them.

Model: victory - victori ous

mountain, monotony, harmony, humour, sanguine, poison, to continue, to vary, danger.

2.6 Form adjectives from the words by means of the suffix – y. Translate them.

Model: sun – sunn y

hill, rain, wind, fog, cloud, fun, laze, health, bog, spice, snow.

2.7 Form adjectives from the words by means of the suffix – able. Translate them.

Model: to change – change able

to vary, to approach, to achieve, to suit, to compare, to break, to notice, reason, to eat, to read, to accept, profit.

2.8 Find the equivalents of the adjectives.

почтенный, респектабельный (respect, respectability, respectable, respecter, respectfully, respectfulness)

находчивый (resourceful, resourcefulness, resource)

непреодолимый (resistant, resistible, resistive, resistivity, resistless, resistor)

засушливый (arid, aridity, aridness)

ассоциативный, общительный (associate, associated, association, associative)

ядовитый (poisoning, poison, poisonous)

Ish

a) –ish sometimes means “with the qualities of” e.g. boyish

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

childish / girlish / amateurish / piggish / monkish

1 He lives in one small room and he hasn’t many needs. He leads an almost _______ life.

2 He is usually a very fine actor, but last night he was terrible, really ________.

3 He’s nearly eighteen but he still has very _______ attitudes and interests.

4 He behaved very badly at lunch. He really has _______ manners.

5 She still wears rather young, _______ fashions.

b) –ish often means ‘rather’, ‘about’, ‘more or less’ e.g. yellowish (more or less yellow), eightish (about eight), slowish (rather slow).this use of –ish is colloquial, so is not often used in written English.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the passage below, in which a man who has witnessed a crime describes to a police officer what he saw.

smallish / sevenish / twentyish / fairish / greenish / darkish / tallish

Well, it happened very quickly, officer. I was just leaving my office. It was fairly late, perhaps (a) _______ and I couldn’t see very well because it was already getting (b) _______. A man came out of the bank. He had (c) _______ hair. His age, well, he was (d) ________ or may be twenty – five. I couldn’t guess his height, but he was (e) ________. He had a suitcase and he got into a car, not a very big one, (f) ________ in fact. The colour? I think it was (g) ________. Sorry I can’t be more exact.

2.10 –ful / – less

– ful means ‘having’, ‘with’ e.g. careful, colourful

– less means ‘without’ ‘lacking’ e.g. careless, windowless

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

thoughtful / harmful / successful / friendless / thoughtless / harmless / beautiful / waterless

1 The Sahara Desert is a vast ________ area which runs from east to west across Africa.

2 Smocking is ________ to your health.

3 This present is just what I want and need. How _______ of you.

4 I hope you are ________ in your exams.

5 Don’t be afraid of the dog. He’s ________.

6 It was very ________ of you to play the radio so loud so late at night.

7 She’s very ________. Three artists have painted her.

8 I was alone and ________ in a strange city.